Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General dies

Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, has died at the age of 80 after a short illness. his family and foundation announced on Saturday.

News Desk

Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, has died at the age of 80 after a short illness, his family and foundation announced on Saturday.

The Ghanaian was the seventh secretary general of the UN who served for two terms between 1997 and 2006 and won the Nobel peace prize for his humanitarian work jointly .

August 18, 2018 He died in hospital in Bern, Switzerland with his wife, Nane, and three children Ama, Kojo and Nina, by his side. He retired to Geneva and later lived in a Swiss village.

Annan’s foundation issued a statement on his Twitter account on Saturday morning that described him as a “global statesman and deeply committed internationalist who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world”.

It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate, passed away peacefully on Saturday 18th August after a short illness…

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for helping to revitalise the international body, during a period that coincided with the Iraq War and the HIV/Aids pandemic.

UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein said in a tweet he was grief-stricken over Annan’s death

I am grief-stricken over the death of Kofi Annan. Kofi was the epitome of human decency and grace. In a world now filled with leaders who are anything but that, the world’s loss becomes even more painful. He was a friend to thousands and a leader of millions.